The hottest office technology trends for 2015

11 Mar 2015

As technology continues to change and improve, the way we do business also changes and improves. Every year, there are new technologies that are must-haves for any business, as well as for personal use.

Jane Hurst

The following are the technology trends to look for this year:

Smart Virtual Personal Assistants (SVPAs): These are like Siri on steroids. These are predictive intelligence apps that can really help to make you more efficient. They use voice recognition to go through all of your personal data, including email messages, calendars, address books, etc. Then, they figure out what the next step will be to make you more efficient. This technology is really catching on, with businesses such as Apple, Yahoo, and Google all acquiring these apps to be worked into predictive products, including mobile apps and smart speakers;

Privacy: One of the most important things for any business, or anyone for that matter, is privacy. Many customers have lost all control over their own personal data, with many popular sites having huge password breaches, including Dropbox, Snapchat, and Adobe. Credit card numbers have been hacked through Target and Home Depot, and more and more people are being to greatly distrust of these and other companies. To prevent future system breaches, businesses are spending more money to make sure that they have the best password security and encryption management. For instance, Twitter has Digits, which is a two-way authentication service for mobile apps;

SIP Trunking: While not exactly a new technology for 2015, the demand for SIP trunking is continuing to increase at a fast pace as businesses look for ways to significantly reduce telecom expenses. Despite the popularity of hosted VoIP, some businesses still prefer to stick with an on-premises PBX solution to handle phone calls. Utilising SIP trunks to connect these PBXs to the outside world will result in tremendous cost savings for local, long-distance and international calls. WhichVoIP provides one of the best ways to learn about this technology and review the different service providers;

Intelligent Drones: Companies are evaluating using drones to make deliveries. Facebook wants to expand connectivity using solar-powered drones. Soon, drones will be able to be used to help business owners learn about their surroundings, and see what certain objects are from above. These smart drones will have the ability to learn about things, and make independent decisions;

Internet of Things: It's time to get into the trend of using devices that can communicate with one another. For instance, the Nike FuelBand will connect to a coffee maker. You will want these devices for both home and work, as well as for shopping and in your vehicle. Google has Nest, a connected home device maker, and other biggies such as Intel, AT&T, and GE are planning on getting on board in the coming months;

Ambient Proximity: This beacon technology will allow smartphone users to have seamless interactions with their surroundings. Beacons will send information back and forth between devices that are near one another and connected. Some companies that are currently using this technology for increasing mobile payment options include Apple and PayPal. Under Armour is using beacons to get data about customer interaction in their stores;

Virtual Reality: Enjoy virtual reality through face goggles, and visit simulated environments. Facebook has Oculus, and this year it will experiment with the device and its software. You may think that virtual reality is just for gamers, but it will definitely gain a strong foothold in the business world; and

Collaborative Software: When you use collaborative software, you can combine instant messaging, social media, email, and cloud storage all in one platform so you can collaborate with your employees/co-workers. At the moment, the top players are Microsoft's Yammer and Salesforce's Chatter, but you will soon see it being used for Facebook for Work.